


Home is Where You Are

by dearingsattler



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Cross-Posted on Tumblr, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-10
Updated: 2016-03-10
Packaged: 2018-05-25 15:02:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6199609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dearingsattler/pseuds/dearingsattler
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU in which Catherine comes home after finding Najib</p><p>(Originally posted on tumblr)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Home is Where You Are

Steve felt his legs bounce up and down nervously as he glanced at the arrivals board again; agitated, he stood up. Only a few minutes or so until Catherine’s flight landed anyway, then the half hour or so it would take her to get through customs and she would walk through that door; it was best he walk off some of the nervous energy before then.  
It was not that he was nervous to see Catherine, he was ecstatic that she was back home, it was just that things had been very unusual the past few months and he wasn’t certain where they currently stood. They had said I love you, and then she had stayed in Afghanistan, and if Steve was being honest he didn’t know where their relationship stood.

He was ready for it to go back to the way it was. He wanted it to go back to the way it was. He just was not certain that it could.

Yet, despite this nervousness and uncertainty Steve was feeling, the relief he felt when he saw Catherine walk through the door was overwhelming. Yes, she was a little thinner and looked a little worse for wear than the last time he saw her, but she looked mostly uninjured – only a few cuts and bruises – and more importantly, she was alive.

The relief only intensified when he pulled her into his arms, feeling her against his chest and breathing in her scent. Catherine was back, alive, and in his arms.

Catherine pulled back and pulled Steve in for a deep kiss, full of months of pent up emotion. Her eyes were misty when they broke apart, “Steve.”

“I know. You did what you had to do. Now come on, let’s go home.” Steve took Catherine’s bag from her and wrapped an arm around her waist as they walked out of the airport towards his truck.

On the way back to the beach house, Catherine relayed the story of her time in Afghanistan. “It was just so hard,” she said once she’d finished. “I felt so alone, but I had to find Najib; I couldn’t just leave him to the Taliban.”

“Hey, I understand,” Steve broke in. “You owed them a lot for what they did for you, of course you’re going to help them in their time of need, that’s who you are.”

Catherine smiled weakly, “Thank you.”

“What for?”

“For understanding, and for being you.”

Steve chuckled as he pulled the truck into the driveway. “Well who else am I going to be? Come on, let’s go eat, I bet you haven’t had a decent meal since you left. I picked up some shrimp and coconut water from Kamekona’s, figured you’d appreciate that.”

Catherine grinned, “You figured right. Boy, have I missed his shrimp.”

A short while later saw all the shrimp having been eaten – Catherine commenting on how much she had missed Kamekona’s shrimp more than once – and the pair sitting back contently on the living room couch, Catherine leaning against Steve’s shoulder.

“So how were things here when I was gone? How is everyone?” Catherine tilted her head to look up at Steve.

“Pretty much the usual; Jerry helps us out a lot more now and Grover is actually on Five-0 now.”

Catherine sat up and looked straight at Steve, confusion written on her face, “Okay, what happened?”

“Remember that kid Ian Wright, the computer hacker?” Catherine nodded. “Well, he kidnapped Samantha, Grover’s daughter, and Grover broke a few laws to get her back and SWAT fired him. So I offered him a job.”

Catherine shook her head, “Well that’s ironic considering how your relationship started out.”

“Yeah, I guess it is. Don’t worry, we’re on much better terms now.”

Catherine laughed, “I would hope so.” Then, a lot more sober, “What about you? How have you been?”

“Pretty busy, taking down criminals, running the te-”

“Steve.” Steve paused. “Please don’t avoid the question.”

Steve relented at the pleading tone in her voice, “I missed you. I was scared that you wouldn’t come back,” he ducked his head. “Worried that our relationship wouldn’t be the same.”

“Oh, Steve,” Catherine moved to embrace him, burying her face in his shoulder, feeling him do the same. “I meant what I said the day I decided to stay, I love you,” she said once they pulled back. “And before, when I told you that things are good between us and I don’t want anything to change, that remains the same.”

“I know, and I should have realized that. I’m sorry for doubting you.”

“No,” Catherine cut him off. “Don’t be sorry, you’ve suffered so much loss in your life, I couldn’t possibly blame your for having a few minor doubts about our relationship because I decided to stay halfway around the world to find a kidnapped child.”

“But I should have also thought about it from your point of view. I mean, Hawaii is your home now, of course you’re going to come back.”

“You’re wrong,” Steve looked at her, a mix of shock and hurt on his face. “Well, you’re right, but not entirely. Hawaii is my home, but it is for one very specific reason.”

“And what is that?”

“You. Home for me is wherever you are. Hawaii is home for you, therefore it’s my home too.”

Steve pulled Catherine towards him and into a deep kiss, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Catherine shifted back a bit and smiled. “Now, about my place on Five-0.”

“You want to be back on the team, you’re in. I’m certain everyone will welcome you back with open arms.”

Catherine’s smile grew, “I can’t wait to get back. For now though, how about we grab a swim and then a shower?”

Steve smirked, “Will that shower be together or apart?”

Catherine returned his smirk, “Like you even have to ask.”

Steve stood up, dragging Catherine up with him, before vanishing upstairs. “You’re on Rollins.”

Catherine laughed. Yep, everything was back to normal alright, just the way it was supposed to be.


End file.
